


The present is all we've got

by Cosmic_Iguana



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Iorveth lacks manners, Kissing, Serious Discussions, Swearing, Tending to Wounds, lots of fluff, mention of revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26001493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmic_Iguana/pseuds/Cosmic_Iguana
Summary: Iorveth awakens riddled in pain and with a hazy memory, bedridden in a place he does not remember. Fortunately, he knows not to worry when he finds Talai sleeping next to him. Tired after having spent an entire day tending to his wounds after finding him in the aftermath of an ambush she tried to warn him about.His heart hurts from the knowledge of the promise he broke to her. And he decides it's time to talk about their habits of breaking each other's promises and whether or not there can be a future for either of them if they stay together.
Relationships: Iorveth (The Witcher)/Original Character(s), Iorveth (The Witcher)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	The present is all we've got

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I worked on trying my best to imagine Iorveth in a romantic scenario where he's been committed for a while and what kind of concerns would arise in such a context. Also, 'Sonneas' is another original character so no, you did not miss a huge portion of the game. I just have some short stories in my mind that ties into how Talai and Iorveth meet and bond and I wanted to convey the history in this short piece.
> 
> Also, Talai was raised by dwarves hence a slight reference and why theres so much swearing haha
> 
> I'm exploring characters engaging with each other and trying to get more comfortable with writing more romantic stuff so your comments and thoughts would be well appreciated! Let me know what you think please! xxx

She’s asleep when Iorveth finally awakens.

The room is unfamiliar to him. Past events blend into a dull haze that throbs in the back of his mind. Fermenting like stale ale, and he feels like he must have been knee deep in some the night before. He can’t make out the room; save for some white walls that remind him of a human apothecary. So Iorveth sits up quickly, ready for danger. He’s just about to kick the covers off and spring into action when something moves beside him. Then he sees the figure, strewn across a chair with her head beside him on the bed. Calming down at the sight of red curls Iorveth hesitantly brings his fingers to course through her hair. As if to convince himself this wasn’t a fever dream.

His entire body cries out in pain from his sudden movements and it takes great effort not to groan aloud and wake her. She looks exhausted from where tiredness carves its way under her eyes, like black crescents. Her hair is dishevelled from where she’s been planted against his bed and she mumbles something under her breath, it sounds like his name. 

And when he sees a nearby bucket that is flooding with blood and numerous arrows on the floor next to her. His mind easily pieces together what must have happened, and the purple welts and rawness of his flesh throb once more in pain as if to confirm it.

He remembers the ambush, slowly events unravel from the blockade in his memory. When he went against Talai’s advice and sought out the lead, knowing the danger, but not caring. He was consumed by his hatred for Sonneas and no amount of dodgy letters or suggestive, shadowy figures would wain him from his hunt.

An elf who claimed to have had advised Sonneas back in the traitorous den of Dol Blathanna learned of Iorveth’s search and offered to help. Promising to tell Iorveth what he knew so long as he met him in a particular location....alone. Talai was right when she said it practically screamed ‘ambush’, and he agreed. Yet despite promising her to drop it, he ventured out to the woods. And alone he was striding through under the cover of nigh.

That’s when the arrow flew from the thickets. Tipped with some manner of paralysis poison that caused his knees to buckle and his sword to slip through his fingers. A whole barrage of arrows then descended upon him. Pinning him to the floor for which he would never get up again….or so it should have been. But Talai was like that, defying fate and odds as easily as she breathed. Perhaps she was quick enough to catch up to him once she realised he had left. Though Iorveth suspected she somehow knew deep down he was going to break his promise and was ten steps ahead of him with a contingency plan.

Talai’s hands clutch the bedsheets. Stained red as they twitched against whatever dream was fumbling in her mind. Then his fingers brush past her angled ear and she flinches awake.

“Iorveth?” His name tumbles from her lips tiredly as she straightens herself. Big, brown doe eyes going wide in shock before her fist pummels into his shoulder.  
“You bloody fool!” She shouts angrily, going in for another punch but retrieves her fist when he holds his hand up in defense, chuckling softly.

“My minne, did you seriously pull me from the brink of death just to kill me yourself?” He says to her. Teasingly smiling the best he can through the pain. 

She looks him up and down, and he can tell she wants to embrace him. But fears hurting him further, so she gives his hand a squeeze and forces herself to smile. She likely knows how bad his injuries are more than him, she draws a solemn gaze to her hands, then draws her eyes back to him. A glaze wets the corner of her eyes and a shuddering sigh escapes her lips.

“Damn right I did,” She chuckles sadly. Bringing his knuckles to her lips. “I won’t fight an unarmed man however. Just wait till you’re well again, and swear I’ll tear you limb from limb for frightening me like that,”

“I look forward to it,” He hums, using his daring tone she was once so used to hearing back in the old days. He curls his fingers around hers, knowing full well she wants to shout, cry, hug him and toss him out the window all at once and it was likely making her a mess behind that smile. 

He attempts to sit up straight once again, but fails and groans miserably. His hand flies to his abdomen, pressing lightly against thick bandages woven around him.

“Easy you twat. You know how long it took me to pluck every single fucking arrow from your body?” She warns, tone sharp. He grimaces at the thought of her doing that, guilt writhes in his heart when he can’t help but look at her hands again. Completely saturated in his blood.  
“And I’m no healer. I was worried I’d gone and save your stubborn arse only to suffocate you with my shoddy bandaging skills,” She reaches for him, easing him so he’s comfortable with a careful hand to his shoulder. As if she’s pinpointed every inch of him that hasn’t been littered in holes yet.

“How bad was it?” He asks through gritted teeth, though he knows not why. He can feel the severity burn his skin, like someone has reached inside squeezing his guts. There are waves of agony that sweep through him now and again, and all he can do is steady his breathing till it subsides to a more bearable pain.

“Did the dhoine’s arrows pierce anything vital or is their aim as shoddy as their pissing,”

Her lips press into a pensive thin line. “You looked like a porcupine,” 

He smiles. “Well, it’s not like children didn’t stare at me before,” 

“It’s not…” A defeated sigh snuffs out her sentence. She looks away from him for a second, lost in troubling thoughts. “It’s not funny Iorveth. What happened to those sweet nothings about never breaking your promise? About not going on some crazed venture for revenge?”

He observes her. He wants to reach out and say he’s sorry for breaking the vow he whispered into her hair the night before he left. But he isn’t, and he’s too damn proud to utter the words aloud. Hurting her and worrying her was the last thing he intended. But he’d go after that contact again if it meant he’d even get a slither of a clue to Sonneas’s whereabouts. No matter how many arrows he took, he wouldn’t stop so long as he drew breath.

“I admit, making promises was unwise on my part,” He starts, stroking her knuckles with his thumb. Not intending to let her hand go even if she can’t bear to look at him right now. A soft breath flees her lips at the affection. “Making such inane promises is a bad habit. Considering the lives you and I lead, it’s one that ought to be kicked. Or beaten out of me,”

A frown contorts her face and she gives him a quizzical look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that if you expect me to lick my wounds and sit on my hands when I’m back on my feet you’ll be sorely disappointed. As soon as I’m able I’m going to pay that pissing elf who led me into that ambush a visit. Then I’ll continue my search and I won’t promise any other outcome,”

A scoff rips from her throat as she shakes her head incredulously. “You’re such a wanker,” The dwarf in her voice rattles him. The thick accent coating her venomous tone in a way that makes Iorveth grit his teeth. So few words, so...blunt. And she manages to get under his skin even so.

“Don’t mock me,” He retorts, feeling an argument just on the horizon. “We can’t go making promises like the ones we keep making and breaking on an fucking everyday basis. I won’t ask you to stay by me when this road leads only to bloodshed,” He frowns, a bitterness swelling in his heart. “And there will be blood,”

“It’s good to see you’re well enough to irritate me even after walking the line between life or fucking death,” She mutters. Talai now turns to face him. There’s strength in her face, a hardness to it that makes Iorveth think twice about arguing back for a second. “You’re asking me to pack up my things? Give up on my quest to change you for the better? As you spiral down this road of revenge?”

“I’m sick of doing this dance and making you pull that face,” He pokes at her cheek and she rolls her eyes. “I won’t change, Talai. You are mad to think I’ll walk away now. I won’t blame you for wanting an out,” He utilises a stern tone, not wanting the conversation to dip into one of her humorous escapades so she could dodge the serious conversations. 

“I don’t want you to change! When did I ever seem like the type to try and ‘rescue you’?! You’re not a mission to me, Iorveth. I care about you, not what you could be. You think I’d still be here if I was interested in some dapper gentleman who doesn’t eat with his hands and forces me to pick him clean of 35 arrows?!” She seethes, pointing towards the bloodstained bucket and clasping his hand a little harder. “When did I ever give you the impression I wanted a life of domestic bliss?” 

“You were married once,” Iorveth points out. Drags his eyes down the strip of pale flesh around her finger. “You want a life free of blood, free of death. That’s all I can offer you, minne,”

“Oh spare me the knightly crap,” She laughs bitterly. “That was a lifetime ago, and it was hardly blissful. I’ve accepted that kind of life isn’t meant for me, not all of us are built for such lifestyles,” She motions between the two of them; smiling fondly. She brings a hand to cup his cheek before he can glance away. He instinctively leans into her palm. Feels the warmth of her skin and relishes in it. She had removed his bandanna during the healing process and before he knows it his eye closes at the contact, the hardened part of his face seems so suddenly sensitive when she touches him there, and it sends a shiver through his body. She’ll never let him forget just how touch starved he’s grown to be.

“I don’t care for your monologues about ‘how I deserve better’ or how ‘I’m a better person’. You don’t choose what I want nor what I deserve, Iorveth. Only if you’ll let me walk to the edges of the world with you,” She whispers, like her words were a dark secret forbidden to see the light of day. “And I would gladly,”

“Even without prospects of a future? You would give up all notions of a proper life for one Scoia’tael commando? You are a foolish woman,”

“I gave up on plans for the future when I removed my ring. Only thing any of us have is the present and that’s something I’ve come to cherish,” She presses her forehead against his. Her nose brushed against his lightly as she took in a deep breath, being so close to him eased her and he felt her tensions leave her body. She was speaking the truth, wholefully and utterly.

“If that makes me foolish, then you are an even bigger fool for thinking that I would give up on my source of insanity so easily. We’re in this together you and I. So long as you’ll have me,”

Iorveth was not used to such profound confessions. Especially from Talai. It seemed logical to him for her to pack up and leave. Their union had never been something with a title. Not like ‘husband’, one that she was once so used to having. And the way they met wasn’t the most romantic. There was time he thought her better off dead, and she thought him nothing more than a common bandit destined to bleed out on the side of the road or in some gutter.

Nothing was keeping her here, save for her adoration of him. She was not dedicated to the Scoia’tael, though she strived for equality in her own ways. She simply remained for his sake, and for the longest time Iorveth struggled on how to come to terms with that.

Having something like what he had with her. A bond so interwoven to his core that taking it away would surely kill him; meant only that he had something others would be all too keen to take away. Talai was a target, a means to get to him. And that terrified him.

Once he made it a mission to push her away. A disquiet kneaded in his chest at the thought of her being a constant force in his life, something that would ruin him if stolen. So tried to cut her out, be done with her before it was too late. Only to come crawling back to her, lapping her up like a lost puppy which she only ever returned. No matter how harsh his words were, how jagged and rough they had been in his impulsive fits. And he could be one impulsive bastard. Talai shrugged them off. Came back in full force with her own witty quips to put him back in his place. She was like a tumour, a thought that made him laugh.

To be challenged daily by her, in both mind and spirit. Indeed, the woman before him in all her brazen glory wormed her way into his cold heart before he could even say no.

But now, despite the small voice in his head telling him to insist. He raised his head and kissed her cheek. The fight leaves his body, accepting his defeat gladly. He was relieved that they wouldn’t concern themselves with the future. Iorveth had spent so long fighting for the future of his race that concerning himself with his own future had been forgotten

“Then remain with me now. Revel in the moment so long as we are able,” He whispers hotly into her ears, and kisses along the side of her neck. A chuckle vibrated against his mouth as she planted a kiss onto his temple.

“Oh, you know how much I love to revel with you, love. But I’m afraid I like my men whole. Men riddled in gaping holes don’t quite do it for me,” She pries herself away from him, walking towards a set of drawers on the other side of the room. A disgruntled huff leaving his lips before he nods when the wave of pain emerges once again.

“And when I am myself again?” He raises his voice. Looking at her with an astute attentiveness. The way she basks in the sunlight, carrying cloth to mend his wounds. He watches the space between her hips, licks his lips and feigns innocence when she catches him staring.

She wags her finger. “It’ll be a long time before you and I are on good enough terms to do that sort of thing again,”

“And what about...the other thing?”

“I’ve been done with the notion of revenge for ages. But if you can’t let Sonneas go..No matter how much I beg you to. Then we’ll make him pay together, I’m with you till the end,”

He believes her when he says it. She would rather let the man go, her own experiences with revenge have marred and scared her, addled her in worry that he’ll endure the same. She knows the bloodstained path too well and she’s warned that all revenge does is take and take till your left with nothing but blood on your hands. But Talai also understands the unending need to make someone who marked you for life pay. How it eats away at you knowing your abuser is out there in the world. 

Therefore, he knows she means it when she says she will stick by him even if she does not agree. She won’t let him walk it alone like she had. Iorveth takes comfort in the notion that when Sonneas is at the end of his blade, he’ll turn around and she’ll be at his back, just as she always had been.

But for now, she returns to his side. And begins the process of cleaning his bandages carefully. Helping him to raise his arms and kissing his shoulders in the process. Whispering softly that she was glad he was okay....


End file.
